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Quiz time! Which festival is the sweetest one?
Wrong! It's not Valentine's Day, it's our famous Maple Syrup Festival in Canada! Canada has the sweetest festival in March-April every year. We will take you to explore this maple syrup festival!
The Maple Syrup Festival originated in a small village in Ontario, Canada. Because of the local habit of making maple syrup, its sweet and smooth maple syrup is loved by many people. The Maple Syrup Festival is celebrated every March and April, and then becomes one of the important festivals in winter.
The History of Maple Syrup
The process of making maple syrup is a tradition of Indigenous people in various areas of what is now Canada. Before metal tools were introduced, Indigenous people used stone and bone tools to make incisions into maple trees. They collected the sap using a birch bark container called a mokuk. Some of the process by which Indigenous people reduced the sap into syrup is lost to history, however one method which may have been used is called rock boiling. First mokuks would be left to partially freeze. The frozen layer would contain mostly water, leaving the sugars in the liquid below. By removing the frozen layer on top, the liquid below is slightly concentrated. Next the mokuks would be emptied into a large wooden trough. Rocks would be heated in or by a fire. The hot rocks would be plunged into the sap in the trough and would boil the liquid. As the liquid boils, water is released in the form of steam, and sugars would begin to concentrate in the syrup left in the trough.
As early European settlers arrived in areas occupied by Indigenous groups, some settlers learned from the Indigenous people about the process of syrup making. The European settlers introduced large cast iron or copper pots (also known as kettles) to the process which helped to speed it up. Sap could be boiled more efficiently directly over the fire using the metal kettles. Maple Syrup became the preferred sweetener used by the early settlers. White sugar was highly taxed at the time and was a luxury item imported from the West Indies. Maple syrup and maple sugar could be made in the off season from farming and produced within the community.
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1. Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival | GTA
a. Bruce’s Mill Conservation Area, Stouffville, ON
Experience the maple syrup trail at Bruce’s Mill Conservation! Enjoy demonstrations, Life Size Games, horse drawn carriage rides, disc golf demonstrations, food trucks and activities for all ages! And of course pancakes and real maple syrup! Special family-fun activities on weekends and March Break!
Address: 3291 Stouffville Rd, Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON L4A 7X5
Event Date: March 4 - April 1, 2023 (Weekends and March Break – March 13-17)
Event Hours: 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Maple Syrup Demonstrations: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Ticket Price: $6.20 – $9.55 + HST & Children 3 years old and under: FREE
Parking: $4.70 + HST
MAP b. Kortright Centre for Conservation, Woodbridge, ON
Experience the maple syrup trail at Kortright Centre for Conservation! Life Size Games and activities for all ages!
Address: 9550 Pine Valley Dr, Woodbridge, ON L4L 1A6 Event Date: March 4 - April 1, 2023 Event Hours: 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Weekends and March Break – March 13-17) 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Weekdays) Maple Syrup Demonstrations: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Weekends and March Break – March 13-17)
9:30 a.m. – 3:0 p.m. (Weekdays)
Ticket Price: $6.20 – $9.55 + HST & Children 3 years old and under: FREE
Parking: $4.70 + HST
2. Maple Town | Milton
It’s the sweetest time of year at Conservation Halton! The Mountsberg sugarbush has been producing maple magic for more than 150 years and educating the public for over 40 years. The park will tap about 300 sugar maples this spring and the crystal-clear sap will be magically transformed into sweet maple syrup in the Sugar Shanty. Purchase a delicious pancake meal, maple themed sweets & treats!
Maple Town at Mountsberg Address: 2259 Milburough Line, Campbellville, ON Event Date: March 4 - April 9, 2023 (Weekends, Holidays and March Break)
Event Hours:
Ticket Price: $8.75 – $12.00 + HST & Children 4 years old and under: FREE
3. Maple Syrup Festival | Oakville
Enjoy a guided tour of Maple Lane, where interpreters costumed for the 1890’s demonstrate different historical ways of collecting and making maple syrup. The tour ends in the middle of Spruce Lane Farm where you can learn how to make fresh maple sugar or enjoy a stick of delicious maple taffy before visiting the various farm animals in the yard.
Address: Bronte Creek Provincial Park, 1219 Burloak Drive, Oakville Event Date: March 4 - March 26, 2023 (Weekends, Holidays and March Break)
Event Hours: 9:30a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Ticket Price: Daily Vehicle Permit $18.00 Senior Permit (65+) $14.50 Disable Permit (with proof) $9.00 MAP
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4. Sweet Water Season | Milton
This experience focuses on the Indigenous heritage of maple sugaring through a series of exhibits throughout the Longhouse Village where visitors can take a step back in time to the 15-th century site when maple sugaring was the first harvest of the year. Sweetwater demonstrations will run throughout the day where guests can gather by the fire and learn all about the history of maple sugar making. There will also be guided maple syrup tasting flights offered where you can try different grades of maple syrup, similar to a wine tasting.
Address: Crawford Lake Conservation Area, 3115 Conservation Road, Milton Event Date: March 4 - April 9, 2023 (Weekends, Holidays, and March Break) Event Hours: 9:30a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Maple Syrup Tastings – 12pm, 2pm
Maple Taffy on Snow – 11am-3:30pm (additional fee applies)
Sweet Water Demonstrations – 11am, 1pm, 3pm
Ticket Price: $7.25 – $12.00 + HST & Children 4 years old and under: FREE
*Extra $1.50 charge when purchasing at gate
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5. Sunderland Maple Syrup Festival | Sunderland
Join in for the biggest Maple Syrup party in GTA. Celebrate “big” when it comes to showcasing the sweet “liquid gold” harvested at our local farms.
The Festival provides visitors with many engaging, family friendly opportunities including experiencing modern maple syrup production, visits to local farming operations, petting zoo and pony rides, art shows, bathtub races, delicious food, vendors and so much more!
First Tapping Ceremony: March 12, 2023, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Pinedale Maples
Address: 1 River St, Sunderland, ON L0C 1H0
Event Date: April 1-2, 2023
Event Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (April 1, 2023) 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (April 2, 2023)
Free Admission
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